Ta Da Lists

(No, that is not a typo). We're all familiar with To Do Lists. They're the things we make when we want to get a lot done and we don't want to forget anything. But how many of us take the time to make a Ta Da List? They're a list of the things we've accomplished (whether in a day, a week, or a year). If we take just a few minutes, we can show ourselves that, yes, we are doing things that are important and valuable. Sometimes those things otherwise go unnoticed, often because we do them almost every day (like making meals). Sometimes, we lose track of some of things we've given our time to because they're spaced so far apart (like planning a birthday party).

My Ta Da List for Today

- got up with my two-year-old at 6:00 a.m.
- had a shower and blow dried my hair
- got dressed and enjoyed how I looked
- made smoothies for everyone at breakfast
- sorted out some of the laundry that was getting wrinkly...folded some of it
- started two more loads
- played piano and sang worship songs
- read to my kids twice (mostly, I admit to try to get them to stop being in my hair, but thoroughly enjoyed it both times)
- made a healthy lunch that I haven't made forever (black beans & rice a la Cuba/Brazil)
- had a good phone conversation with another woman
- followed up my press releases from yesterday with three emails and got a response
- wrote out a computer "to-do list"
- cleared the table completely after lunch (this is quite an accomplishment for me)
- corrected my four-year-old with a decent amount of graciousness and understanding
- laughed out loud
- started this post

So, can see, that quite an ordinary morning can seem almost extraordinary when you stop to realize all you've done. Please note that there are some things I left out of the list like: having a mini panic attack and starting to take it out on the kids when I wasn't getting any business stuff done, dealing with screaming and fighting children and juice messes, and feeling a bit of guilt at not getting my son down for a nap when he probably really needed one.

I encourage you to try it now. Whatever you're in the midst of, just sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and do it (or type it in Word). I'd love to hear it! We all need to celebrate the little things more.